Last year I decided to write up some blogging goals to give me more of a focus and basically a kick up the backside to keep going and steer my blog in the right direction. Now that it's 2018, a whole year later, it's time I revisited last years goals and see where I'm at.

BloggingPosting - my posting history isn't the best at the moment. Sometimes I'll post 3 times a week then I can go weeks or even a month without posting. It's not great for my readers so I must really improve on this.

Last year was definitely an improvement on 2016 although I did start to kind of flag come November and December. It's a busy time of year at best but I also have the kids birthday's to think about. I'll keep trying to be consistent though as it's much better for you readers.

Schedule - on the back of timely posting is probably scheduling. If I managed to spend some time writing and scheduling posts then they wouldn't be so sporadic. Going to look into this and see if it helps.

I didn't get any scheduling done but I did manage to write posts in advanced a lot of the time. I'll definitely be doing more of this in 2018 as it makes the world of difference when you've got deadlines to meet.

Media Pack - you'd think after almost 6 years of blogging I'd have a media pack sorted by now! Wrong! So need to get my butt in gear and get that pack sorted for all the lovely brands, PRs and companies to work with out there.
I actually don't know what's wrong with me but I still don't have a respectable media pack on hand. I have got one through a PR site which is handy to ping on but I'd love to have my own pdf which I can update as and when required. This needs to go back on the list of things to do.Business Cards - I've got fabulous business cards which I received last year but only every plucked up the courage to hand a few out. Now is the time to stop being afraid and start actually giving them out when appropriate.

The business card pile has taken a hit and I've been handing them out left right and centre when I get the chance. I think it's really helped so I will be continuing to do this. What's the point in having them if you don't hand them out!Engagement - I so need to engage more with other bloggers hence why I've purchased a ticket to the lovely BlogOn Conference in May this year. I'm really excited but a little nervous as I have never been to a blogging conference before. Hopefully this will be the start of new and lovely things to come.

The BlogOn conference was amazing so if you're thinking of going def do. It was my first conference for bloggers and I loved every minute. I'm hoping to go again this year but don't have my ticket as yet. Will need to get that sorted. I have increased my engagement with other bloggers though and it's good to be part of something with other people like minded.Hobby to Business - Making an income from my blog would be a dream come true and now seems to feel like the right time. I just need to put myself out there and hunt down all those fab opportunities.

Haven't really done this so will need to get a move on won't I. One to put on the list for 2018.

Be SocialEngagement - It seems like a no brainer but I really need to be more social on my social media platforms. I've been stepping it up on Facebook and Instagram recently but I must improve my A game on Twitter. I'm going to put some focus into that this year and see where it takes me.

I was getting so good at this but it kind of dropped off especially on Twitter. I'm back to it now though and trying hard again. Sometimes it's not easy being social, haha.

Commenting - I want to share the love around and start commenting on other bloggers posts. I go through a phase of doing it a lot then forgetting to at all. I really enjoy a lot of blogs so giving some love back is key.

I was doing so well and this dropped off a bit too. With a new year I'm starting back again though and it does make such a difference.

I'm not sure if I was being totally optimistic here but my Facebook went from 648 to 844 followers which is an increase of 196. Still pretty good but not quite the 1200 I wanted. I'll get there though. For Twitter I wanted 5000 followers but have only reached 2743. It's definitely an improvement on what I had but I can't quite remember back to 2017 and what I began with. A note to self to take notes! It's the same story with Instagram. I'm now at 2787 and wanted 5000. Not quite there but can't remember what I had back in 2017!

Tots100 - Increase my Tots100 score. I'm currently at 600 but last year the highest I got to was 219 which I was very pleased with. The whole being social and engaging should help improve my score.

I'm now at 488 which is great and fingers crossed I can get back up to the 200s or even higher.

EmailsCheck - physically checking my emails regularly. I've got a bad habit of using social media a lot but not actually checking my emails in case an opportunity has come though.

I'm nailing this at present. Trying my hardest to get back to people asap and I'll keep at it.

Reply - easy enough don't you think but I read quickly then think "oh I'll get back to it". I MUST stop doing this and reply as soon as possible. Opportunities aren't going to hang around forever.

As above, I'm reply as fast as I can as don't want to miss out.

Pitch - If there's something I see which I think I could turn my blogging hand to then I need to start pitching and approaching brands who I think would like to work with me. I'm definitely going to start doing more of this in 2017.

I've pitched a few times and it does work but of course not all the time. Some companies and business it's just not for them but others love it so I'll keep trying.

So as you can see it's not all bad and I've definitely made some improvements. Rome wasn't built in a day (or a year) so I'll just need to keep plodding on and doing my best. Hopefully my best is enough as it's not going to move forward itself. Nothing ever got done from sitting back and watching the world go by. Here's to a more productive 2018. Fingers crossed!